Government tells U.S. Supreme Court not to delay Blagojevich trial

Here's today's filing by the U.S. Department of Justice, urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to delay the trial of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his brother, Robert.

The trial is supposed to start Thursday but defense lawyers are seeking a delay until the high court rules on the honest services statute. The court is poised to strike down the law.

Prosecutors say the trial should go on.

"The district court noted that the evidence underlying the honest services fraud counts is the same as that underlying the bribery, extortion, and racketeering counts, so that the evidentiary flow of the trial will not be affected by the outcome of the honest services cases," lawyers for the government wrote. "And the court protected against any prejudice to the defendants by limiting opening statements to discussing the evidence to be presented at trial and by barring the parties from using the term
"honest services" during their opening statements."